The Protestant Libertarian Podcast

In this episode I revisit three of my most controversial episodes (5, 19, and 57) that discussed the creeds of the Christian church and Biblical inerrancy. Most of the negative feedback from my show has been generated by these two episodes, and I wanted to revisit them one more time to clear up any potential misunderstandings. First, I explain how the common denominator among all protestants is the belief in the authority of scripture and why that should shape our understanding of the creeds and Biblical inerrancy. I then explain how I agree with every statement of the Apostle’s Creed and discuss the importance of creeds in general while showing that the creeds are incomplete because, understandably, there are many important aspects of the Biblical witness that can’t be fit into a short summary statement of important beliefs. I discuss how creedalism can sometimes screen out the teachings of Jesus, Christian ethics, and discipleship generally because they address mostly doctrinal statements, and that we need to understand the creeds within the larger framework of scripture so we don’t neglect other essential aspects of our faith. I then turn once again to Biblical inerrancy, showing how it has been misappropriated by fundamentalists, progressives, and skeptics and used in ways that undermine the authority of scripture and cause interpreters to unjustifiably impose modern ideas about science and history back into the text. I also explain how defenders of the Chicago Statement, such as R.C. Sproul, have a hermeneutical method that is nearly identical to my own, and why retaining the language of ‘inerrancy’ can work if it is carefully defined. I then explain why I prefer the terms ‘authority’ and ‘reliability’ over ‘inerrancy’ while acknowledging that many people I know who hold to ‘inerrancy’ are in complete agreement with me on the way in which the Bible ought to be interpreted. I hope this episode helps clarify my position on these important issues! Check out the upcoming episode (147, drops Thursday) for a conversation I had with Jacob Winograd of the Biblical Anarchy podcast about inerrancy.  Media Referenced:Ep 5: The Authority of Scripture and the Creeds of the Early Church: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/authority-scripture-creeds-early-church/ Ep 19: Biblical Inerrancy w/ Tim Price: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/biblical-inerrancy-problems-timothy-price/ Ep 57: The Chicago Statement: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/chicago-statement-on-biblical-inerrancy-a-critical-analysis/The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!

In this episode I talk to Trenton Hale. Trenton is a young libertarian activist and writer who specializes in foreign policy, history, and economics. We discuss his journey to libertarianism at a young age, his published books and articles, working for Students for Liberty, and promoting libertarian philosophy at Western Kentucky University. He then explains how the culture wars, the actual wars, and the Fed are destroying this country, the sad state of the 2024 election cycle, and how liberty can solve the many social, political and economic problems plaguing America today.  Media Referenced:Trenton Hale on X: @TrentonHale13Trenton on Instagram: @casual_libertarianThe Shadows of FDR: https://a.co/d/1h2imd1The Failed Idea: https://a.co/d/0VuSzk6Freedom for All: https://a.co/d/dlDy1br The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!

In this episode I share a sermon I preached at my church on Sunday, July 28, 2024. Using passages out of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, I explain the significance of our membership in God’s universal church. I explore the boundaries around the church and how Paul determines who is and who is not a part of the church (Ephesians 1:13-14), God’s purposes in calling the church (Ephesians 2:10 and 3:10), and how the church will accomplish its mission of revealing God’s wisdom to a world that desperately needs it (Ephesians 4:1-24). I then explain why the Church is God’s ‘Plan A’ and how there is no backup plan. I hope that this helps you understand better our identity as Christians and the need to live like missionaries to those that don’t yet know God!  The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com. Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!

In this episode I talk to George Harrell, a high school humanities teacher with Kepler Education, an online Christian education program, who is also the executive director of the Buchanan Forum, an organization promoting the relationship between liberty and theology. We have a very wide-ranging conversation that is centered on American Biblical illiteracy and how the west has lost sight of the very important narratives contained in the Christian scriptures. We also discuss the difference between public and free-market education, the problems facing our public schools and the ignorance of the average student, the excellent work of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and the 2024 election.  Media Referenced:George on X: @geharrellGeorge Harrell blog: https://www.shotglassofhistory.com/Kepler Education X: @KeplerEducationKepler Education: https://kepler.education/Buchanan Forum on X: @BuchananForumThe George Buchanan Forum: https://www.tgbf.org/ The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com. Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!

In this episode I talk with Dr. Benjamin Shaw, who teaches at both Liberty University and Colorado Christian University. He is the president of Core Apologetics and the author of the brand-new book “Trustworthy: Thirteen Arguments for the Reliability of the New Testament”, which is out now on IVP. He discusses his unusual introduction into the field of apologetics and why he believes that Christians need accessible resources to help them defend their faith. We then look at several of the topics he discusses in the book, which are all designed to show that the New Testament is historically reliable. He examines textual criticism, when and by whom the NT was written, how we can determine if an event recorded in the NT actually happened, what we can learn from non-canonical sources, how the NT canon was formed, and much more. He then explains the work he does for Core Apologetics and resources that Christians should utilize for better understanding apologetics.  Media Referenced:Trustworthy: https://a.co/d/4tySwrwBen Shaw bio: https://www.ivpress.com/benjamin-c-f-shawCore Apologetics: https://www.coreapologetics.com/Ben’s Appearance on Faith in the Folds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppalBftM8B4Ben Laird interview on the canon: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/how-the-new-testament-was-formed-with-benjamin-laird/ The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!  

In this episode I talk with Sundar Iyer, a successful American entrepreneur and businessman, about how the California Department of Civil Rights (CRD) openly discriminated against him on the basis of religion. Sundar grew up in India and is himself not religious, but after a disgruntled employee complained to the CRD, the CRD assigned Sundar the religion of ‘Hindu’ and wrongly claimed that he was harassing this employee because of his caste. Sundar explains why this case makes no sense, the long history of CRD harassing peaceful citizens, and how he is fighting back. We also discuss the dangerous precedent that government agencies like the CRD pose and why religious freedom is essential to the American way of life. Please support Sundar by sharing this interview and supporting his work! The public needs to know this story! Media Referenced:Contact Sundar: sundaes@gmail.comFor more information: Castegate.com The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!

In this episode I welcome back Laurie Calhoun, an author and senior fellow at the Libertarian Institute. Laurie published a recent article at the Libertarian Institute entitled “Sham-ocracy, Scam-ocracy” in which she explores how the rhetoric of democracy has been used in pursuit of very anti-democratic ends. We discuss how democracy theoretically means ‘the rule of the people’ and how the political and media class as co-opted it to mean something much different. We explore how ‘Russiagate’, the Trump trials, and his attempted assassination are undemocratic, how European challengers to right-wing political parties claims they are a threat to democracy, and Trump’s own failure to embody democracy during his presidency. She then explains how war is the greatest threat to democracy, how both parties participate in the warfare state, why the Cold War and the War on Terror were not democratic, and if World War II can properly be described as a ‘just’ war. We close by reflecting on the downsides of Democracy and the need for constitutional restraints and free speech.  Media Referenced:https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/sham-ocracy-scam-ocracy/Laurie Calhoun at the Libertarian Institute: https://libertarianinstitute.org/author/lcalhoun/Blog: https://thedroneage.wordpress.com/Laurie on X: @laurielcalhounMises Article on French Elections: https://mises.org/power-market/warmongers-win-french-legislative-election-while-everyone-else-loses The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!

In this episode I share a sermon I preached at my church on Sunday, June 30th. We are in the middle of a series called ‘Choices’, and I made the decision to explore what the book of Revelation tells us about making the choice to follow Jesus. I explain how to understand Revelation historically, exploring the author, the original audience (the seven churches in Asia minor), and the genre, which is called by historians and Biblical scholars ‘apocalyptic literature’. I then explain how Jesus’ position at the right hand of the Father makes him both king and priest over all the earth, and how who have placed our faith in him are his kingdom. I then look at the church in Laodicea in chapter 3, showing how they had become lukewarm because of their material comforts and that they needed to repent and trust in Christ. I discuss how American Christians can be easily distracted by our own wealth and possessions, and how Revelation shows that if we believe in Christ as King and our identity as his people we cannot afford to ignore our responsibility. I close by examining how the vision of the throne room (Revelation 4-5) and the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21-22) challenge us to take Jesus seriously. The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com. Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks! 

In this episode, I talk with Noah Khrachvik, a Marxist and co-director of the Midwestern Marx Institute. He explains the dialectics of Marxism and why true Marxists are inherently populist. He demonstrates that Marxism is different from both postmodernism and critical theory, and why the American left has sold out their principles. We then have a long discussion about the Federal reserve, the military-industrial complex, and the Covid regime where he explains why communists should be against all of them. We also discuss the chaotic 2024 election cycle and the future of the United States. There is a surprising amount of agreement between the two of us on almost all the most important issues of our time!*My recording software defaulted to my computer microphone; I apologize for the less-than-stellar sound quality on my end! Media Referenced:Noah Khrachvik on X: @khrachvikMidwestern Marx on X: @MidwesternMarxMidwestern Marx Website: https://www.midwesternmarx.com/Midwestern Marx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MidwesternMarx The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com. Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!

In this episode I talk with Jeremy Kauffman, an entrepreneur and libertarian activist from New Hampshire. A recent article in Reason magazine was critical of the current direction of the Libertarian Party, and Jeremy debated the merits of the claim, as well as Reason’s funding and audience, with several Reason staffers, including Zach Weissmueller, who shared his perspective with me in my last episode. Jeremy talks about the philosophical differences between left-wing and right-wing libertarianism, arguing that Reason caters to the left, and argues that libertarians need to understand and be honest about their ideological commitments if we want to adequately express libertarian ideas. We also discuss the purpose behind the controversial messaging of LP New Hampshire and why he thinks it is effective, his senate run in 2022, the Libertarian National Convention, Trump, Oliver, the Covid Vaccine, the Free State project, and the 2024 presidential election.  For Zach Weissmueller’s take on the controversy, check out Ep 136: Reason Magazine, the Mises Caucus, and the Libertarian Party.  Media Referenced:Jeremy Kauffman on X: @jeremykauffmanLiz Wolfe Article: https://reason.com/2024/06/25/how-the-libertarian-party-lost-its-way/War is Gay campaign ad: https://youtu.be/kdfym6LKpQ0?si=DbjInfDn351m8cJm The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!